Will AI kill software engineering jobs? What technical leaders like Sam Altman are saying here
With increasing curiosity to kill AI software engineering jobs, top technical leaders here have to say about the impact of AI on the future of human coders.
Listen to the story

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are more powerful and capable, one of the biggest questions facing technical industry today is whether software engineering will be a viable profession. Some of the biggest names in Tech are already indicating major changes – how the code is written from low demand to total resurrection. With curiosity about whether AI software engineering will replace engineering jobs, top technical leaders here have to say about the impact of AI on the future of human coder.
Openai CEO Sam Altman
Openai CEO Sam Altman believes that software engineers will become far more productive in the short term, but the future may seem very different. Speaking on Stretchry with Ben Thompson, he said, “My basic belief is that each software engineer will do a lot for some time. And then at some point, yes, perhaps we need less software engineers.”
Altman also stated that in many companies, AI is already working more than half of coding.
He said, “I think in many companies, this (AI coding) probably lasts from 50 per cent. But I think the big thing is that the agent will come with coding, who is not doing for the real,” she said.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodi
Dario Amodi, CEO of AI Startup Anthropic, saw the change even faster. He recently predicted that AI could soon do almost all coding.
“I think, we will reach there in three to six months, where AI is writing 90 percent code. And then, in 12 months, we can be in a world where AI is compulsorily writing all codes,” he said during a program in the council on foreign relations.
Openi CTO Kevin Veal
Echoing this aggressive pace of progress, OpenaiI Chief Product Officer Kevin Weel said on the overpower podcast, “I will be surprised if we are 2027,” I would be surprised.
According to him, the reason for this is how fast the AI models are developing.
He gave an example: “Imagine all the things you can do if you do not need to be an engineer to make software.” And when he sees AI overtaking humans in coding capacity, he does not see humans obsolete.
“You are going to use it during the day and day to increase yourself in your job,” he said. “People are going fast like the managers of these AI employees who will do a lot of basic work for them.”

Microsoft Cto Kevin Scott
However, not all technical leaders are sure that Kodar will become irrelevant. Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott believes AI will write most codes – but human creativity will still matter.
“It’s going to be very low-line by line-human-written code,” he said on 20 VC podcast.
Scott estimated that in five years, 95 percent of code can be generated by AI. Nevertheless, he stressed that for really complex problems, humans will be important.
“If you are trying to solve the world’s most difficult computational problems, then you need computer scientists.” He also said that the AI would level the playground, allowing small teams to do more: “Small teams are faster than big teams.”
Google CEO Beautiful Pichai
Google CEO Sundar Pichai also weighed, sharing that AI is already creating a quarter of all new codes in Google. “Google has been generated by AI over a quarter of all new codes,” he wrote in a blog post. However, this code is still reviewed by human engineers, keeping the human element alive in the loop.
Microsoft Founder Bill Gates
Bill Gates agrees that AI will replace jobs, but he still considers Kodar safe – at least for now. In an appearance at The Tunite Show, Gates listed coders in three businesses that are “still irreplaceable.” He said, he admitted that AI would eventually dominate most areas of work.
“With AI, in the next decade, it will become independent, general – great medical advice, great tuition,” he said. Gates said, “There will be some things that we reserve for ourselves. But in terms of making things, pursuing things and increasing food, over time they will basically solve problems.”

Purplexity CEO Arvind Srinivas
Meanwhile, Perplexity CEO Arvind Srinivas described this change as the development of roles rather than a lump sum replacement. With AI writing too much code, engineers will take a different kind of responsibility.
In a conversation with the CEO of Hakrenak, he said, “You don’t have to type everything anymore.
Retail CEO Amjad Masad
But Northern CEO Amjad Masad probably introduced the most direct and controversial on the issue. “AI agents get better, it would be a waste of time to learn to code,” he said, referring to the launch of Dario Amodi’s full AI-Codit software. While he still admits that fundamental thinking skills are important, the message of Masad is clear: less on syntax and more focus on communication and ability of problems.
“Learn how to think, know how to break problems. Learn to communicate clearly, as you will do with humans, but also with machines,” he advised.